both. When heaven and earth have united, all followers of Jesus who pass away before his Second Coming will first be with Him in paradise and then dwell with Him on the new earth.
“Today you will be with Me in Paradise,” Jesus said to the convict who put his faith in Him as He was hanging on the cross (Luke 23:43). Paul stated, “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better,” (Philippians 1:23), expressing the same assurance that he would be with Christ after death. It follows that if we believe, we shall undoubtedly spend eternity with Christ. That’s heaven, where God is (Matthew 23:9), where Jesus is (Acts 3:21), and where the angels are (Matthew 22:30). Our current body is but a “tent,” according to 2 Corinthians 5:1, and after we pass away, we return home to live with God.
Heaven is just a half-way station
However, being in heaven is merely a stopover. To be human is to have a body. Our current body is not very good. [It is limited in every way]. It experiences illness, ages, and finally passes away. However, on the new world, we will receive a new, glorified body. Paul likens our current body to a seed in 1 Corinthians 15 and our new body to a plant when we rise from the dead. According to 1 Corinthians 15:42–44, “What is raised is imperishable; what is sown is perishable.” Raise in splendor, sown in disgrace. Grown from weakness to strength. A natural body is seeded, and a spiritual body is raised. When a natural body exists, it also
Resurrection of our bodies
Our expectations for our resurrection bodies are influenced by Jesus’ teachings and the accounts we read about [the Lord Jesus’ resurrection body]. We will partake in wine with Jesus (Matthew 26:29), and we can continue to eat (Luke 24:43). Let there be no marriage (Matthew 22:30). As demonstrated by Jesus’ sudden disappearance (Luke 24:31) and appearance in a closed room (Luke 24:36), some of the restrictions on movement will vanish.
The Bible discusses the resurrection of the dead as our hope for the afterlife far more than it does concerning our eternal state (e.g., Romans 6:5, Philippians 3:11). The message of the gospel is not our ascension into paradise, but rather the resurrection of the dead (Acts 4:2).
We shall live in our new bodies in a new planet and new heaven following the Last Judgment. The heavenly Jerusalem will descend to the ground from above. There will be God the Father and God the Son (Revelation 21). Earth and heaven are now one. Earth has witnessed the arrival of heaven. It is better to refer to the place where we will spend forever with God as the “new earth” since, when we use the word “heaven,” we usually do not think of dirt, trees, and rivers.
